Paris Fashion Week: L'Oreal celebrates female empowerment and Givenchy goes futuristic

Batman motifs, supped-up florals and celebrities make an appearance on the runway

Cindy Bruna walks the runway for Le Defile L'Oreal Paris 2021. The beauty behemoth hosted a star-studded fashion show at Parvis des Droits de L’Homme, or Paved Forecourt of Human Rights in Paris. Getty Images

L’Oreal enlisted a number of its spokespeople to walk the runway, including Helen Mirren. Getty Images

French singer and model Yseult walks the runway at the L'Oreal Paris show. Getty Images

'I think it's a blessed moment, that we're all here again together celebrating women,' said the former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Getty Images

Pop star Camila Cabello on the runway. Getty Images

A model presents a creation at Lanvin's spring/summer 2022 show. AFP

Creative director Bruno Sialelli continued to draw on Lanvin's Art Deco archives. AFP

Sialelli called his latest collection 'bold and joyful and free and unapologetic'. AFP

The Lanvin show began with gently flowing baby doll dresses in feminine shades of lilac, turquoise and purple. AFP

The piece de resistance was Naomi Campbell rounding off the show in a black superhero cape. AFP

A look from Givenchy's spring/summer 2022 collection. AFP

For his first live show, Givenchy creative director Matthew Williams served up an interplay of luxury and utility and lavishness and austerity. AFP

Set on a futuristic white oval runway, models were followed by black robots on wheels at Givenchy. AFP

Artist Josh Smith’s intense colour palette and signature motifs, which include reapers and pumpkins, were embedded onto menswear and womenswear. AFP

Traditional silhouettes were given a futuristic revamp. AFP

Musician Young Thug created the score for the Givenchy show. Getty Images

L'Oreal marked the 50th anniversary of its "Because You're Worth It" slogan on Sunday, with a runway show that starred some of its most famous spokespeople, including Helen Mirren, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Camila Cabello. Over at Lanvin, Naomi Campbell stole the show in a black cape worthy of a superhero, while Givenchy served up a juxtaposition of the past and present.

Flowers and superheroes at Lanvin

Daisy prints and Batman motifs might sound like odd bedfellows, but not so on the Lanvin runway. Creative director Bruno Sialelli continued to draw on the house’s Art Deco archives, ramping up the glamour by yet another notch and calling his latest collection “bold and joyful and free and unapologetic”.

The show kicked off with gently flowing baby doll dresses in feminine shades of lilac, turquoise and purple, which were paired with towering platform heels. Next came an explosion of floral prints and motifs lifted from 1940s Batman comics. The caped crusader made an appearance on men’s shirts, women’s crop tops and slinky metallic evening dresses. The piece de resistance: Campbell rounding off the show in a black superhero cape.

Creative contrasts at Givenchy

The vast La Defense Arena set the tone for Givenchy’s show, which was a celebration of big ideas. On a futuristic white oval runway, models were followed by black robots on wheels. For his first live show, creative director Matthew Williams served up an interplay of luxury and utility and lavishness and austerity, giving traditional silhouettes a futuristic revamp.

“I wanted to build on the tradition of Givenchy's history while also really looking towards the future,” said Williams in his show notes. “To do this, I worked with people I admire across different disciplines who have truly unique perspectives, including the artist Josh Smith, whose iconic work is incorporated throughout the collection, and the musician Young Thug, who created the entire score for the show. The collaboration and this collection offer people a remarkably immersive and special experience.”

Traditional masculine tailoring fabrics, including mohair wools, Napa leathers, cotton herringbones and Prince of Wales checks, were juxtaposed with neoprene and applied to corsets, peplums, shorts and mini skirts, as well as more conventional suiting. Delicate Broderie Anglaise was left exposed, while tulle and other plays on transparency added lightness to the collection.

Meanwhile, Smith’s intense colour palette and signature motifs, which include reapers, pumpkins and other “personal totems”, were embedded onto menswear and womenswear, introducing a sense of joy to proceedings.

L'Oreal marks a milestone

It is 50 years since L’Oreal launched its now famous slogan, “Because you’re worth it” and to mark the occasion, the beauty behemoth hosted a star-studded fashion show at Parvis des Droits de L’Homme, or Paved Forecourt of Human Rights in Paris.

To reiterate the fact that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and ages, L’Oreal enlisted a number of its spokespeople to walk the runway, including Mirren, Katherine Langford, Cabello, Aja Naomi King, Soo Joo Park, Amber Heard, Rai Bachchan and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Clothing was designed by Balmain, Elie Saab, Mugler and Issey Miyake, as well as a selection of emerging houses such as Koche and Ester Manas.

French model Cindy Bruna opened the show wearing a fuschia jacket with shimmery purple leggings. She was joined by a troupe of dancers wearing T-shirts with the phrases: "I'm Worth It" and "Feminine & Feminist".

The show was dedicated to women's empowerment and supporting L'Oreal's training programme, Stand up Against Street Harassment.

“I think it's a blessed moment, that we're all here again together celebrating women … giving a shout-out to women and empowerment, L'Oreal celebrating 50 years of 'I'm Worth It', and all of us here together feeling strong, feeling positive, and looking at life ahead,” said Rai Bachchan.